Mac Studio (M1 Ultra Chip) Master Review

Apple Mac Studio

A while ago, Apple brought out the strongest model after their self-developed desktop chip M1 Ultra, at the same time, the new host Mac Studio was released to demonstrate its power. How did this seemingly giant Mac mini become the most powerful computer in Apple’s history? What is the experience of using it? Our main site editor borrowed the M1 Ultra chip version of Mac Studio and answered some of the above questions.

Mac Studio It can be said to be the efficient host that everyone is looking forward to, because even the revised version M1 Max Version MacBook 16″Also, the ports on the fuselage are not enough for everyone, but they are complete on the Mac Studio. The M1 Ultra version of the Mac Studio has 4 Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports, 2 USB-A at 5Gbps, 10Gb Ethernet ports, full-size HDMI and headphone jacks on the back, plus 2 Thunderbolt 4 on the front (10Gbps USB-C on the M1 Max version) and a very useful UHS-II SDXC card reader. That said, it’s a pleasant surprise that Apple still remembered to make some space for a USB-A port for this brand-new console that focuses on efficiency.

However, there is a very strange place in the I/O layout, that is, the 3.5mm headphone jack that is often plugged and unplugged is actually placed next to the power button. Wouldn’t it be easy to cause an accidental shutdown? Or does Apple want everyone to use bookshelf speakers?

As far as the body design of the Mac Studio is concerned, this thickened version of the Mac mini console looks like a collection that will appear in a modern museum. So even if you can’t hide it behind the screen like a Mac mini, it’s cool to have a Mac Studio out there, and it can even make it more professional.It is also added here that the two versions of Mac Studio will have a difference of nearly 1kg in weight. Apple alsoexplainIt is said that the M1 Ultra chip needs to use a more efficient cooling system, but in fact it is only 2.7kg and 3.6kg.

Before entering the performance comparison, let’s talk about the comparison between Mac Studio and a number of competing products. The Mac Studio is a very attractive console even on Apple’s product line, as the Mac Studio’s starting price ($1,999), which also runs on the M1 Max chip, is also cheaper than the 16-inch MacBook Pro, with less portability of course. And the screen, but the above also said that the connectivity is complete. Then there’s Apple’s iMac Pro and Mac Pro, both aimed at creators just like the Mac Studio, but both are surprisingly priced ($4,999 and $5,999), leading to the M1 Max version of the Mac The Studio is instantly very accessible, even with the M1 Ultra chip version, which starts at $3,999.

Finally came to the main event, which is the running score of the M1 Ultra chip. This time, the main editor found the M1 Max’s Mac Studio and MacBook Pro for peer comparison, as well as the Intel NUC 12 Extreme he recently reviewed.

During the evaluation process, the M1 Ultra chip version of Mac Studio quietly won the highest scores of Geekbench 5 CPU and Cinebench R23, which not only shows the strength of the chipset, but also directly makes people feel the power of the cooling system. What’s also interesting is that the M1 Max performs the same regardless of whether it’s a desktop or laptop version. As for foreign enemies equipped with Intel Core i9-12900, even if the single-core performance can catch up with the M1 series, the multi-core score is disastrously defeated by the M1 Ultra, only slightly better than the M1 Max.

In practical applications, in addition to the familiar Final Cut Pro, Apple also provides some examples used by professionals to give us the editing experience of the main site, including Horos Mobile in the medical field. In Final Cut Pro’s test to see how long it takes to export a 34-second 8K video, the Mac Studio with the M1 Ultra chip took only 23 seconds, and the 4K version took 23.5 seconds; the M1 Max model also only took 23 seconds. Only 0.2 seconds and 2 seconds more.

As for the more challenging image processing performance, the Horos Mobile is better than the NVIDIA RTX 3090 24GB VRAM GPU because it can borrow 64GB or 128GB of unified memory in the chip. Because what is displayed in Horos Mobile is a 3D computer-scanned image composed of up to 54 million voxels.

Of course, the powerful performance of Mac Studio allows users to easily and easily obtain computing results, but there are some things that Apple Silicon platform Mac computers cannot do. One of the clichés is that the Mac has fewer options for gaming, while also not being able to use VR gear and eGPUs. In addition, the M1 platform does not support dual systems, so it will be more troublesome for friends who need to run Windows apps or even a complete Windows environment.

Intel NUC 12 Extreme front profile

Another problem with Mac Studio is that it cannot be upgraded. In addition to the one-piece design of the mainframe, it is also because the memory is now directly integrated into the chipset, so everyone can afford the highest specifications when placing an order today. in use. The only thing you can “upgrade” is the included accessories, such as the Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse, especially the chances of the latter being replaced are quite high.

In conclusion, Mac Studio is suitable for some users who are simply looking for powerful and sufficient I/O, and they can do it in one step as long as they pay a fairly reasonable price.